The FC Barcelona says he is “optimistic” for Tuesday night’s game against Atletico Madrid
Luis Enrique Martínez gave a clear indicator that FC Barcelona has already turned the page on Saturday’s El Clásico defeat and is focusing solely on Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Atlético Madrid. The Barça manager was as “optimistic” as ever during Monday’s press conference, as he responded to questions from the media.
Here’s what Luis Enrique had to say:
On his players:
“They are competitive and totally reliable. They are unique. We will compete to the maximum, for sure.”
“I do not know if we will win or not, but the team is good enough to continue to be the same team we’ve seen in recent months.”
“I have great faith in my players and in the path they’ve taken to win titles for Barça.”
On the keys to knocking out Atlético:
“We will not change our style of play. We want to control the ball on their side of the field and ensure the fewest number of transitions to prevent counterattacks.”
“The goal is to play better than our opponents because that will lead us closer to victory.”
“We’d like to win without conceding goals, if possible.”
“If we can be better than them, we have to take advantage of it because we will have a very tough return leg.”
On the difficulty of Atlético:
“Atlético Madrid are a top-notch team, very dangerous in different ways, and very complete. That’s why they are where they are.”
On the fans at Camp Nou:
“You can’t ask for anything more. We are infinitely stronger with our fans behind us.”
On Arda Turan:
“I am delighted with Arda Turan. He has a lot of ability to adapt and gives us many things. I’m happy with his performance.”
On the trident:
“Messi, Neymar and Suárez are the best in the world, but they are not machines. They are not unbeatable nor invincible, not by a long shot.”